Zurich exits annuity market in £7bn Swiss Re deal

The move is the last act of a process that began in 2005 when Zurich announced it was to cease marketing its annuity products and focus on the core areas of pensions, investments and protection. The deal will see Windsor Life Assurance, A Swiss Re subsidiary, managing Zurich’s former annuity book. Zurich said it hoped to pocket around £50m from the deal, which will be used to ‘enhance its position in chosen target markets’. The transfer covers around 220,000 policies and Zurich said they would be unaffected. Paul van de Geijn, chief executive officer of Zurich Global Life, said,...